


Shoganai

by QuintusHazard



Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Bad Ending, Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Sadstuck, i just wanted to hurt my boy a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22451893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuintusHazard/pseuds/QuintusHazard
Summary: Just one foolish decision leads to a terrible mistake made by Tegiri Kalbur.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Shoganai

**Author's Note:**

> ouchie oof it hurts mother

"Yamero! It's futile to run! I'll catch up to you soon!" came the breathy holler down the street. Court was in session already, even though the criminal wasn't in custody yet, and probably wouldn't ever be unless they proved to be rather sturdy.

No reply came from the criminal - they didn't even look back towards Tegiri. They were focused on escape - no attention was paid to the tealblood's demands for the stranger to stop. From the two pairs of horns and the yellow hems on the hoodie, Tegiri judged that this must be a goldblood. He knew he had to be careful - goldbloods were fast, and if they were to suddenly turn and blast him with a powerful psionic wave, things would come to a bloody, sizzling end.

The verdict was a firm guilty - the runaway murderer must have thought they weren't being watched as they attacked their quarry - some unfortunate rustblood who had remained forgotten on the sidewalk for some nighttime creature to pick at. The body of the victim wasn't important in the slightest to Tegiri - but the body of the attacker was.

The assailant suddenly leapt up to grab at a low-hanging gutter, pulling themself up with the strength of a midblood. Tegiri would have been mildly impressed if he weren't the one chasing them. Unable to jump quite as high, Tegiri dragged himself onto a nearby dumpster, using it as a step up onto the roof of the building.

Despite the fact that the criminal outsped him by quite a bit, Tegiri was built for endurance. His muscles barely even strained as he followed steadily after the goldblood. Soon enough the criminal would tire out, he was sure. He just had to keep running until then, not letting them out of his sight.

This would certainly be a good story to tell Polypa once he got home - he could almost picture in his mind the rightfully dramatic reconstruction of the current event. A chuckle escaped his throat as he followed the goldblood across several rooves.

The terrace of hives ended shortly, and there was no hesitation from the pursuee as they leapt from the roof, rolling as they hit the ground and kept running without faltering. This was less than ideal, thought Tegiri. Teals were durable, sure, but jumping from a roof untrained would not bode well for him.

Dithering at the edge of the roof, he thought for a few seconds before pulling his katana out of its saya. If he could hit the killer with his blade, it would delay them enough for Tegiri to catch up to them, if not outright kill them.

This was something Polypa would disapprove of - katanas and swords weren't for throwing. Tegiri would look extremely silly if he threw his sword and missed. Kunai and shuriken were for throwing, after all! He certainly owned enough of both, but they were all contained within display cases in his hive. 

Tegiri knew that there was no other thing for it. It was now or never, and he knew he would miss the shot he didn't take. With a deep breath and the concentration of a javelin thrower, Tegiri hurled his sword at the criminal, who was halfway down the street by now.

To Tegiri's satisfaction and surprise, the blade flew straight and true toward its target, and the death cry of the troll was plain to hear as the folded steel pierced its torso. The goldblood fell hard onto the tarmac road, and was still.

"Yattaaaa!" cried Tegiri, grinning. He could now take his time climbing down from the roof - the troll certainly wasn't going anywhere.

Tegiri soon found a pipe which led down from the gutter. Gripping it tight, he descended the wall at a careful pace, still keeping his eye on the body. Once his feet were on flat ground, the tealblood broke into a sprint down the street. Even if the chase was over, he wanted to identify the executed troll - there was plenty of paperwork for him to do, after all. Striking this troll off the Imperial record, getting an approved site to dispose of the body for the beasts to consume. Tegiri dreaded the theory, but loved the practice.

As Tegiri came closer to the body, his sprint slowed down to a hurried amble, until he stood directly at the foot of the corpse.

They were face-down, with Tegiri's katana poking hilt-up out of their back. Tegiri couldn't see their face thanks to the hood which obscured their identity. He crouched down, squatting as he took hold of the hood and pulled it back.

To Tegiri's surprise, one of the pairs of horns came away with the hoodie. A disguise? Was this troll pretending to be another caste to fool the authorities? Now that they were still and dead, it wouldn't work, and Tegiri glanced downward towards the wound, deciding to ascertain the caste before looking at their face.

Olive blood pooled on the ground, oozing from the torso. Tegiri wrinkled his nose as some blood touched his shoe - that'd stain, and it'd be a bastard to scrub out. It was unusual for someone to disguise themself as a lower caste than they actually were - most disguises were worn by lowbloods wanting to get into highblood-only neighbourhoods and events.

Tegiri decided it was finally time to shed light on the identity of this enigmatic troll, so he turned his attention back to the hood. Now fully pulled back, Tegiri bent forward to take a look.

"No!" came the choked gasp from Tegiri as he finally recognised the troll he'd killed. "It can't be!" He begged the power that were to tell him that this wasn't true - Polypa wouldn't do this. He couldn't have done this to her. This was too much. It surely had to be a terrible mistake. 

Alas, there lay Polypa, her facial features slack and relaxed. He'd seen her like this many times before, having fallen asleep in the rumpus room after watching ten seasons of anime in one evening. She'd grown to love East Alternian animation as much as he did, and he would always carry her to his recuperacoon and tuck her in, falling asleep himself in the bean-bag at the other corner of the room.

This must have been what happened now - he'd fallen asleep there again and forgot to change the sopor filter in the seat. He blinked, and blinked again, rubbing harshly at his eyes.

When it became apparent that this was real, that he'd killed his closest friend due to some terrible coincidence, he sunk to his knees. His thighs ached from squatting, his knees stinging as they slammed against the road, and the breeze was almost painfully cold against Tegiri's cheeks.

Unable to stare at this horrible sight any longer, Tegiri covered his eyes with his hands, feeling his tears streaming down his face, cool and unforgiving. His chest heaved with near-silent sobs and his body shook. This was all his fault - no, it was Polypa who had broken the law so blatantly after he'd let her survive her hiveless situation. No, it was his fault for being so hasty, for not catching up to her and unmasking her before he'd had the chance to end her life.

Tegiri paid no attention to the olive blood staining his jeans. He let his arms fall slack to his side, throwing his head back and letting out a long, mournful cry. His sobs now came loud and unstoppable, not caring who saw or heard him. He didn't care about anything now, except the fact that he had nobody in the world he could call a friend anymore.

He tried to shrug off the hands which had descended upon his shoulders. He paid no regard to the familiar voice letting him know that they weren't going to hurt him, and he tried to drag himself out of the arms of his classmates, who had been passing on their way to the bookhive.

"Polypa!" He wailed as he was pulled away - Tyzias' firm arms keeping him steady, and Tagora's hand rubbing his back in circles. Shielded from his mistake as his head was pushed against Tyzias' shoulder, he sobbed bitterly. 

Tegiri swore he could feel his heart breaking.


End file.
